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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444619">the most important mark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerAndere/pseuds/DerAndere'>DerAndere</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the most important mark [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Slice of Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:55:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29444619</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DerAndere/pseuds/DerAndere</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bumi Beifong is born on a bison’s back. It’s not the worst start in life, all things considered.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Toph Beifong, Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the most important mark [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2243859</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Bison's Back</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is purely self-indulgent, just me writing (rambly) about my OCs. I have no clue where I'm going with this. The title will be what it is until I come up with something better. (So probably forever.) It does not make sense.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>So his life starts like this: </p><p>A woman isn’t screaming. Her throat is sore, and her face is red, and everything is going not according to plan, but there is no time to contemplate that now, or ever, really, because everything there is is now, and right now, she needs to breathe and do as the trembling voice just out of reach tells her to, needs to trust the voice that is so uncertain, because there is nothing else she can do. </p><p>A man is talking. He isn’t sure if what he’s saying is right, if it is helpful, if he isn’t doing everything wrong, but he can’t allow himself to think that way, not right now. Not ever. Because it is his job to be calm, even when he is not. He can’t be. He needs to be. His voice is shaking and so are his hands, and this isn’t how they had thought it would be, but then again, nothing ever is, ever has been. </p><p>They’re very high above the water, above the world, and they’d joked about this happening, and they should’ve known that it would. </p><p>They really should have. </p><p>The universe has liked playing tricks on them for as long as it has existed. </p><p>A lemur chitters. </p><p>The wind is cold. </p><p>It’s early spring. </p><p>And then, just like that, from one moment, aching and loud, to the other, not so different at all, there’s a new voice, no more than a whisper, a quiet whimper, and it belongs to a boy with dark hair and pale skin who they decide to name Bumi. </p><p>Not right this second, though. </p><p>Right now, his father stares down at him in wonder, and his mother closes her eyes, and they breathe, and he whines, held by hands that will forever have his back. A few terrifying hours have gone by, and they’re not forgotten forever, but they are forgotten for now, for just this moment. </p><p>“Wow”, the man says. </p><p>“Yeah”, the woman sighs. </p><p>Bumi Beifong is born on a bison’s back. </p><p>It’s not the worst start in life, all things considered. </p><p>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A By-The-Books-Baby</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He doesn't remember his first stay on Ember Island, because of course he doesn't – he'd been no older than twenty minutes, thirty tops, when Appa had touched down, on his back a shaken man and a tired woman and a baby slumbering in his mother's arms. A lemur would have been circling their heads or maybe resting on the bison's own, but nobody ever mentions Momo when telling the story of Bumi's birth, and Bumi hasn't ever thought to ask. </p><p>What he knows is that Katara's the first to approach Appa, and therefore first to see him, tiny and wrinkly and not aware at all of the chaos that breaks loose just seconds later, and he knows that Sokka almost drops Sesi, because she tells him every year, with more dramatic detail each time since she's allowed to drink at parties. </p><p>"Didn't expect you there already", she says when Bumi turns nine, and Little Iroh adds: "Though we did expect you to be born on the trip. Or I did, at least. Dad had multiple talks with me about that." </p><p>"Multiple?", Sesi snorts. </p><p>"He was not well prepared for my questions", the prince shrugs, before turning to Bumi once more: "You were the first baby we ever saw up close, and Aunt Toph didn't want to let us hold you at first, so Sesi screamed until she handed you over." </p><p>"I probably made some pretty convincing arguments." </p><p>"You were three", Iroh laughs. "You annoyed her into giving you what you wanted, which you're still pretty good at." </p><p>She makes a face at him, tongue stuck out, and Bumi giggles and Iroh carries on: "It was quite the week. A bit boring, once you weren't exciting anymore because everyone was always hovering over you and Aunt Toph. And I don't think Uncle Aang slept for longer than an hour the whole trip." </p><p>His father had, indeed, been incredibly sleep-deprived by the last day of their Ember Island stay, his mother sighed when Bumi asked her about it later, and as he grows older, that becomes less surprising, though not exactly less worrying. Dad doesn't sleep well when he's stressed – the twins and Kavi are much the same, so maybe it's an airbender thing –, and becoming a father for the very first time probably doesn't do wonders for one's relaxation. </p><p>(He'd been fine when Kavi had been born, or at least Bumi thinks he'd been. But then, there'd been four children to practice on before Kavi, so that's probably only natural.) </p><p>Like Sesi brings up almost falling from her father's arms on every one of his birthdays, Katara reminds him of how very tiny of a newborn he'd been every time they vacation on Ember Island – which is once a year, usually, though rarely around the same time. The trip falls on his birthday again only once until he comes of age. </p><p>"I didn't think you'd grow up to be taller than Aang", Katara says one year, shaking her head and smiling. "You fit into one of his hands easily, I was sure you'd barely reach your mother in height." </p><p>He tilts his head. </p><p>"I was early, wasn't I? A little?" </p><p>She waves her hand dismissively. </p><p>"A week or so. Not enough for it to matter." </p><p>Then she pinches his cheek, something only she is allowed to do anymore, and he grins broadly at her, a smile that's neither quite Toph's nor Aang's, but entirely his own, and she says: "You were a cute baby, though. Maybe because you were so tiny. And you looked a lot like your father when you were that small." </p><p>"Beifong genes are stubborn", he says, like his grandmother does whenever his grandfather notes again how alike they look, the nose, the cheeks, the chin. </p><p>"That, they are." </p><p>He'd been an easy baby, though, not stubborn at all, his mother says, while Kavi screams his tiny head off, and that he'd have stayed an only child, probably, if he'd been anything like his littlest brother. Or maybe not, because it wasn't like they'd planned to have five kids in the first place. </p><p>Then she kisses the baby's head and shakes her own and tells Bumi to run along because his ears are too young to be ruined like this. </p><p>His father calls him a by-the-books-baby, which is when he learns that there's a book out there for just about everything, even for when an infant should sleep and when it should cry. The twins had come as a pair, of course, which made them more difficult by default, one of them with big, always open eyes, the other only happy when held by a parent, and there'd been a four-year-old to run after, as well, by then, and too soon after a very energetic baby had joined them, slow to form words and quick to start running. </p><p>"And really", Dad sighs, "Kavi is lucky that we found the time to make him at all."  </p><p>This is when Bumi excuses himself from that conversation, too. </p><p>Even by-the-books-babies are difficult sometimes when they are the very first – and maybe even when they aren't, but his parents don't know about that for sure, and neither will Bumi, until many, many years after his very first stay on Ember Island. He'd slept when he was supposed to and eaten when he was supposed to and most of his firsts happened just around the right time, but that didn't make them any less <em>firsts</em>. </p><p>His father hadn't slept for three days straight after his birth, and his mother had only slept when he was within reach, when she could hear him breathing, feel him without stretching her arm too far, and it's not the most tired they've ever been, they assure him, but it's the longest they've been this tired for, and by the time he'd been introduced to his grandparents, they were exhausted. </p><p>Of course they were. </p><p>"They slept for a whole day." </p><p>His grandmother smiles when she says it. </p><p>His grandfather shakes his head. </p><p>"A lot was happening around the time you were born. It's why we didn't get to see you 'til you were almost three months old." </p><p>Nobody quite remembers what had been going on, then. Just that the Avatar is always busy, and that the world doesn't care if the Master of all Elements who's sometimes just a guy named Aang could use some family leave, which must've made being a first-time-parent all the more difficult. </p><p>He's a first for Poppy and Lao, as well – their very first grandchild – and they'd made Mom and Dad stay a whole week longer than the two had initially planned, which wasn't a bad thing exactly, because the extra hands were certainly appreciated at that point.</p><p>(A point at which they'd been willing to hand over the child without having to be screamed into submission by a three-year-old first.) </p><p>They are good to him, both his grandparents, proud of him, always, they feed him sweets when he's in Gaoling and send him toys when he isn't, and sometimes, they try too hard. But that is a discussion for a later point, for an older boy, a boy who knows that his mother had run away while a war was raging on and cannot understand why she would leave her home, her parents, the grandparents he loves so dearly.  </p><p>It'll be a long conversation, and one he knows doesn't get easier for anybody involved even as the years pass. He gets the roughest version of it, but that's just how it is as the oldest. Everything's tested on him, one way or another. There's no choice in that. </p><p>All that, however, is a long time in the future when Lao holds a sleepy baby and tells his beaming son-in-law the boy seems to take after his father (he's only half-wrong with that), or when Poppy assures her daughter that Bumi will be safe with her for as long as his parents sleep. </p><p>Most still is a long time in the future, then. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Pair of Brothers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He's just turned four when his parents sit him down and ask him if he remembers visiting Kyoshi Island the month before. He does, of course, so he nods and beams and speaks, all so enthusiastically he nearly falls from his father's knee. </p><p>"Yeah! Daddy and I almost rided the Oo-na-gi!" </p><p>"You did", mom says and quirks an eyebrow, and Bumi remembers a lot, but not that he'd promised dad not to tell mom about this particular exploit, so he keeps on smiling and keeps on nodding, and mom pulls him into her laps as dad tries to grin. </p><p>It's his heart-melting grin, the one he puts on when he knocks over a vase in Uncle Zuzu's castle while chasing after Iroh and Sesi and Bumi, or when he puts his foot in his mouth at one of Grandpa's fancy parties, and it's a charming thing, certainly, but, and this is something Bumi learns early in his life, mom can't be charmed by what she can't see. </p><p>She knows the smile, knows that it's there, knows dad too well to not expect it, but she just tilts her head until he sighs and says: "It was an accident." </p><p>"How do you ride an animal on accident?" </p><p>"We <em>almost</em> rode it. We were swimming. The Unagi was there. Things happen." </p><p>"He's too little." </p><p>"I know." </p><p>"I wasn't there!" </p><p>He laughs. </p><p>"I know. I'm sorry. You'll be there for his first proper ride on a dangerous animal, I promise. And we'll wait with that until after–" </p><p>Her eyebrows shoot up. </p><p>"Right." </p><p>Dad nods. </p><p>Mom shakes her head. </p><p>It's a very fond headshake. </p><p>"Can we ride the Oo-na-gi again?", Bumi asks, bouncing in his mother's lap. </p><p>"Maybe someday", she says. "But this isn't about the Unagi, buddy. D'you remember the baby, too? Sesi's little brother?" </p><p>"Yeah!" </p><p>Sesi's little brother had been very small and very loud and very breakable – at least Uncle Sokka had said he was, not breaking eye contact with Bumi or letting go of the baby for even just a second as he placed him in the little boy's arms. He'd had very blue eyes and very soft hair and very few teeth – none at all, in fact. But that is normal for babies, Sesi had said, and that he'd grow them over time. </p><p>"He was heavy!" </p><p>"He was", dad smiles. "And you liked him, right? He was cute. You were excited to hold him." </p><p>"Uh-huh." </p><p>"Well, ...", mom continues, "what would you say if we told you that you could have a little brother–" </p><p>"–or sister–"</p><p>"–of your own? That'd be awesome, right?" </p><p>He tilts his head. </p><p>"Where do I get him?" </p><p>Mom snorts. </p><p>Louder a second time when dad exclaims, unthinkingly: "Mommy's making him." </p><p>The little boy gasps, staring up at his mother with wide grey eyes. </p><p>"Right now? I wanna see! Please, Mommy?" </p><p>A third snort. </p><p>Dad scratches his ear and looks to mom for help, but she doesn't come to his rescue, probably because she is too busy not laughing out loud. She's shaking a bit, but Bumi is too excited about the prospect of seeing a little brother be made to really notice. </p><p>"You ... can't really see", dad says, very slowly. "Or ... well. Uh. Mommy's pregnant with your little sibling. That means they're growing in her belly. Right here." </p><p>He grabs Bumi's hand and puts it on mom's stomach.</p><p>Bumi frowns, or tries to, anyway, with an adorably crinkled nose and eyebrows that don't draw quite close enough together. He tugs on his mother's shirt. </p><p>"<em>Why?</em>" </p><p>"Well, he's very, very small right now, and it's a safe place for him to get bigger and stronger. It's how babies work. They grow in their mom's belly for nine months, and when they're ready, they come out." </p><p>"Was I in your belly?" </p><p>"Of course." </p><p>"How'd I fit?" </p><p>"You were much smaller. Smaller than Kesuk, even. You've done a lot of growing since." </p><p>He has, indeed. People often think he's older than he is, because he's just a little taller than he probably should be at four years old, and that's fun, usually, until people expect him to do things he can't because ... well, he's a four-year-old, not five or six, and tying his shoes is very hard still and almost always being barefoot isn't exactly helping him learn. </p><p>There are more questions after that, and more silent laughter from his mom as dad awkwardly fumbles through his answers, and Bumi doesn't end up entirely understanding, but he understands enough to not be alarmed when his mother's stomach starts growing. </p><p>He almost doesn't notice, at first, because the only things that change are that sometimes, mom wears dad's clothes instead of her own, which makes her look very silly, and dad is always a little bit closer to mom than he was before, which she's not happy with at all. But mom still chases Bumi around and teaches him new bending tricks, so he doesn't mind, really, and he's excited for a little brother of his own, someone to always play with, a friend who doesn't live several bison rides away like almost everybody he knows. </p><p>But mommy's belly keeps growing and doesn't seem to want to stop, and that's when things start to change in a way that bothers the little boy a whole lot more. </p><p>She gets tired quickly, and then she's slower, so much slower than she used to be, and she doesn't like playing tag with him anymore, either, mostly because she's slow and tired, he thinks, and it makes her no fun, even if she does still show him some bending, sometimes. Her belly gets in the way of almost everything; she can't even bend down to pick him up any longer, and dad doesn't like her carrying Bumi around, anyway, which annoys both mother and son. </p><p>A little brother stops being exciting the second he gets in the way of Bumi's <em>everything</em>. And that's before his little brother's even decided he's ready to come out and meet them all, which, Bumi imagines, will probably make everything even worse. So one evening while in Gaoling he says, very seriously over his soup: "I don't wan' a little brother anymore." </p><p>His grandmother snorts. </p><p>Years later, it'll be funny to him, too. </p><p>Right now, he just stares up at her and pouts. </p><p>"It's a little late for that, I reckon", Grandpa says drily. </p><p>"Why? He's not here now. Just don't let him come here, ever." </p><p>The dining room is quiet for a moment, more or less, the adults contemplating what to say next as the little boy slurps his soup and watches them. There's a little amusement on all of their faces, something he's not happy to see at all, and some worry on mom and dad's, which is a little better. </p><p>"Well, Bumi", dad finally says, "the baby will be here soon no matter what. They're basically ready now. And even if they weren't, we couldn't tell them not to come, because that's now how these things work. Mommy and I are very excited for them to join us. So are Grandma and Grandpa. And so were you, just this morning." </p><p>This morning, dad had taken over earthbending practice with him so mom could sleep in. </p><p>"It's hard work, growing a baby", dad had grinned and picked up a whining Bumi like he weighed nothing. "C'mon, buddy, your dad's just as good of an earthbender as your mom." </p><p>Which isn't true at all, and they both know it. </p><p>In any case, though, that had been the last straw. </p><p>"Nuh, I wasn't", he protests, hand balled into a chubby fist around his spoon. "I don't wan' him anymore. Mommy? Please?" </p><p>He pouts at her, because he is his father's son. </p><p>She pats his head, fingers brushing strands of brown hair out of his eyes. </p><p>"Why don't you want to be a big brother anymore?", she wants to know. </p><p>"Just don't wanna", he grumbles.  "I don' like him." </p><p>"You don't even know him yet, little badgermole. Don't you think you should give him a chance before you decide you don't want him around? I think you should meet him before making a call. I mean, I couldn't stand your dad at first–" </p><p>"I feel like that's a bit strong–" </p><p>"–but he grew on me once I'd gotten to know him. A whole lot, in fact. And now he's one of my favourite people in the world." </p><p>"Aw. How nice to know you care." </p><p>"Shush, Twinkle Toes." </p><p>She tickles Bumi's nose, and the boy pulls a face. </p><p>"An' if I don't like him later?", he retorts. </p><p>"We'll have to see about that, then. But something tells me you'll like him a whole lot, Bumi. And that he'll love you a whole lot, too." </p><p>"But you never wanna play with me anymore." </p><p>His food is getting cold and everybody else's is, too, because they're all listening, waiting to jump in if need be. Only Grandpa's spoon clinks against his bowl as he stirs in the soup. </p><p>Mommy smiles, face very soft, eyes very warm, and Bumi doesn't know it yet, but this is an expression reserved just for him – and all the siblings that would join him in the future –, and it makes him instantly feel all fuzzy and loved. </p><p>She's still playing with his hair. </p><p>"I love you, bud. So does your dad. And right now, you have a lot more energy than I do, but that doesn't mean I don't want to play with you anymore, alright? We'll just have to do a little less running around than usual. We can play with your blocks after dinner, if you want to." </p><p>He wants to, and they do, and it's awesome, because playing blocks with mom always is, because doing anything with mom is always awesome. </p><p>Things are easy like that, mostly, when you're four and need to be hugged just a little bit tighter to be sure mom still loves you. </p><p>"You can always tell us when something's up", Dad says, even later that night, when Bumi is snuggled into blankets that are much softer than anything they have on Appa, and he is warm and happy. "You know that, right, Bumi? You can tell us anything. Nothing's too small. If you feel sad because of ... anything, anything at all, even your sibling, we need to know about it. You need to tell us. Deal?" </p><p>Bumi nods. </p><p>His eyes are drooping. </p><p>"Deal." </p><p>Dad kisses his forehead and tugs him in a little tighter. </p><p>"Alright. Sleep tight, buddy." </p><p>They stay in Gaoling until his brothers are born – brothers plural, and Bumi will never find out if his mother knew about that beforehand; she's always very vague when asked about it, and he's not sure if that's because she's annoyed with herself for not picking up on a second little heart beating right under the first, or if it's because this is just her kind of fun, surprising them all with a twin she'd probably known about for months. </p><p>Either way, one morning not too long after Bumi has decided to give his little brother a real chance before saying he doesn't like him, his grandma wakes him up, which is unusual, but not unwelcome, and it's almost time for lunch when he finally notices something's amiss. </p><p>"Where's Mom?", he asks. </p><p>They're sitting in the garden and the sun stands high above them. It's one of the last properly warm days this year, one of the last days fit to sit outside like this at all, and grandma tilts her head at his question. Her eyes flicker to the main house. </p><p>"She's inside, with your dad." </p><p>"Oh." </p><p>He pulls little columns from the earth for a second longer. </p><p>Then: "I wanna go to them." </p><p>"We can't right now. They're very busy." </p><p>He furrows his brow. </p><p>"Why?" </p><p>"Your little sibling's decided they're ready to come meet you. But it'll take a while for them to arrive here, so we have to wait a little before we can go in to see them." </p><p>The boy is a bundle of nerves and energy after that, a barely containable ball of questions, and his grandmother hands him over to his grandfather sometime after talking him into eating some rice and vegetables – which does not happen without half of it being sent flying through the room –, but not before he bends a hole into the sitting room wall for no discernable reason. </p><p>His grandfather has him sit in his lap at the big, important desk for about ten seconds before realizing that might not be the best place for the practically vibrating little boy – a lot of ink has to be spilled onto a lot of important papers for him to realize this, which is unfortunate, but unsurprising –, and then Bumi gets to play tag, mostly because he shouts "Catch me!" and runs and grandpa can't not run after him. </p><p>When dad finally comes to pick him up and meet his brothers – not that he knows there's two of them, yet –, grandma and grandpa are exhausted, because they love having their grandson around, and they love watching him, but there are limits to everything, and Bumi has found them today. </p><p>"You wanna come with?", dad asks as Bumi bounces in his arms. </p><p>He looks tired and happy, and Bumi pulls on his earlobe, and he doesn't seem to notice at all. </p><p>"Dad!" </p><p>"We'll come later", grandma says and grins at them. </p><p>Grandpa nods. </p><p>"Daddy!" </p><p>"We're going, we're going", dad laughs and carries him down the hallways, his first son, his oldest son, but not his only son anymore, and there's a bounce in his step, as well, a bright smile that makes his face shine, makes him look like the friendliest man alive, who he probably actually is, at least as far as Bumi is concerned. </p><p>"How's my brother?", the child asks, eyes wide. </p><p>"He's ... beautiful." </p><p>Dad's voice is soft. Reverend. </p><p>"They both are. Both of your brothers." </p><p>He presses a kiss to Bumi's cheek as Bumi's face scrunches up. </p><p>"What?" </p><p>"You have two new little brothers. Tenzin and Norbu. Norbu came first, and then came Tenzin, as a surprise, right after him. They have your mom's hair and her eyes as well, and they're beautiful, buddy, they're great. You'll love them." </p><p>"You said one", Bumi says, still not quite comprehending what his father is telling him. "One brother. You said." </p><p>"Well, ... sometimes, there's more than one baby. It's hard to tell until they're there." </p><p>Then he opens a door, and there is mom, and yes, two babies, and mom looks even more tired than dad but just as happy, and Bumi wiggles in his father's arms until the man drops him onto his mother's bed. </p><p>Bumi crawls over the cushions. </p><p>Dad lifts one of the babies out of mom's arms, and the one who's left, the one who Bumi sees when he straightens himself and leans into mom's side, has barely any hair and mom's eyes, indeed. Green and curious and awake. And he blinks, and Bumi stares, and then he melts and sniffles. </p><p>"Meet Norbu", mom says quietly. </p><p>"And Tenzin", dad adds, sitting on the edge of mom's bed. </p><p>Tenzin has even less hair than Norbu, and he's asleep and also adorable. They both are. And Bumi pats both of their heads, first Tenzin's, then Norbu's, as carefully as he can. He remembers that babies are breakable, Uncle Sokka told forever him. </p><p>He doesn't notice his dad grinning at mom like she can see, and misses the way his mom sighs, little and relieved. </p><p>"What do you think?", she asks. </p><p>"I like them, I think", he whispers. </p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A Busy Man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fun fact: The rest of the Gaang was supposed to be in this chapter, but now it's looking like there'll be at least another chapter before we see them.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things are hectic, after the twins are born. </p><p>Norbu doesn't sleep. </p><p>At least it feels like that, sometimes. </p><p>He's awake and watches the world with wide eyes until he's tired, and then he keeps watching until he cries, red-faced and with burning eyes, his nose runny, over-tired, and nothing can calm him down, because nothing is wrong, because he's just tired, and Norbu is the only one who won't let Norbu sleep. Dad takes him flying a few times, and that seems to help a little. He's asleep when dad comes back with him, at least, but that might just be because they're gone <em>forever</em>. </p><p>Tenzin does sleep. </p><p>Only ever when he is with mom or dad, though. </p><p>He sniffles and stares angrily and then sobs outright when put down or handed over to grandma and grandpa for too long, but this is, really, a much smaller problem than his tired-angry twin screaming instead of sleeping, because it is solved by dad just tying him to his back and mom strapping him to her chest. He's content there, for the most part, and so that's where he spends his days, pudgy hands balled to fists, barely noticeable after a while of being there. </p><p>Bumi likes his brothers. </p><p>For the most part, anyway. </p><p>He's not a fan of the crying, or having to share his mom and dad with two whole new people who can't talk or walk or get themselves a snack like Bumi can, and they aren't really good for much of anything yet, but that's only temporary, mom assures him, they'll run after him in no time. </p><p>And while he waits for that to happen, he likes to watch them. </p><p>Everything is new, and lots of things are exciting to them, and the way they laugh is special and infectious, and he loves how their squishy little faces scrunch up when he tickles their feet, and he loves how soft their hair is, and he loves when mom or dad let him hold one of them, because it makes him feel all grown up. </p><p>So he likes having them around, most days. </p><p>That they stay in Gaoling helps. </p><p>When mom is busy feeding Tenzin, and dad is busy trying to put Norbu to sleep, grandma picks Bumi up and they wander the gardens, which he likes, even if the flowers are all gone now and the floor is cold and hard and grandma makes him wear boots, something his parents don't often do. They usually stay in the warmer parts of the world when it gets cold in the colder parts, because mom doesn't like wearing boots, either. </p><p>Grandpa's not big into wandering, so he lets Bumi sit in his lap at the big desk instead – after cleaning up all the important papers, this time – and doodle with inky hands while he writes words and numbers Bumi knows only about three of. Sometimes, Bumi copies those clumsily, and grandpa puts his own brush down to explain how to do it better.</p><p>Bumi's not sure if he's ever spent this much time with his grandparents before, but it's not like that bothers him. In fact, it's pretty awesome to have them always around, even if he misses being in the air all the time and sleeping cuddled into Appa's fur under the vast starry sky. </p><p>He doesn't think they've ever spent this much time all at once anywhere, actually, so that's pretty exciting, as well. </p><p>Life is almost perfect, as far as Bumi's concerned, basically as close to perfect as it gets, because Dad hasn't been distracted by the world for a while and Mom has more energy again and Grandpa and Grandma are right there when they do get distracted or tired for a second, anyway. </p><p>It doesn't stay like that, of course. </p><p>The Avatar is a busy man. </p><p>The twins are six weeks old – and Bumi can count that far now, thanks to grandpa, can count up to ten, even, which is all his fingers, and one less than Little Iroh is years old, apparently, or maybe the years exactly, grandpa isn't sure – when he hears mom and dad argue through a wall. Or ... well, not arguing, really, because they're saying basically the same things, they're just saying them very, very loudly. </p><p>"It's not like I want to leave, Toph!", dad says, his voice the loudest it's ever been, and Bumi sees his grandmother frown, but she doesn't move from her spot in the ring of wooden blocks the boy has built around her. "I <em>don't</em>. I <em>never do</em>!" </p><p>"So <em>don't</em>!", mom retorts angrily. "Fucking don't, Twinkle Toes!" </p><p>And a moment later, defeated: "I know you have to. I ... <em>know</em>. I just ... I ..." </p><p>"I know." </p><p>"<em>Don't leave</em>. I need you to be here, with me." </p><p>And the boy has never heard his mother beg, has never heard anyone beg, really, – except for maybe himself – but there is desperation in her voice, just enough for him to notice, and sadness, and she's still loud, and he's pretty sure she's begging dad to stay. </p><p>He looks at grandma. </p><p>"Where's dad going?" </p><p>She shakes her head. </p><p>"I don't know, yet, Bumi." </p><p>Then she sighs. </p><p>"How about we stop listening in on your parents and go play outside, huh?" </p><p>So he doesn't hear much more of his parents' not-argument-argument, and by the time he's been wrangled into a coat, he's almost forgotten about it, too, and then he's running around the gardens again, grandma a few steps behind him, and he doesn't care anymore. </p><p>Such is life when one is four years old. </p><p>That night, at dinner, his parents are quiet, which is weird, because they usually bicker and laugh and tease each other – and grandpa –, but Bumi doesn't care too much, barely notices, actually, because his vegetables taste great and grandpa trying to make up for the silence by telling stories about his businessmen is pretty funny, if only because he's a terrible storyteller who stumbles over every second detail. </p><p>Mom plays with Tenzin's fingers. </p><p>Dad breathes in. </p><p>"So", he says, "I have to leave tomorrow." </p><p>"Oh." </p><p>Grandpa looks at mom, then at dad, then at Bumi for a second, who gives him a toothy grin because he hasn't detected the heaviness in his father's voice yet. </p><p>"Are you all leaving?" </p><p>"No." </p><p>Dad rubs his face. </p><p>"No, we don't think it'd be a good idea to bring the kids there. They're too little. There's too much going on. Toph's gonna stay here with them, and I'll try to be quick. You won't even notice I'm gone." </p><p>He tries to smile. </p><p>"Where are you going?", Bumi asks. </p><p>"Habao. It's not too far from Ba Sing Se. You remember Ba Sing Se, right?" </p><p>"Where the funny man with the bear lives", the boy says wisely, and his grandfather pulls a face at the Earth King being referred to as "the funny man" as a smile pulls on mom's lips. Grandma snorts. </p><p>"That's right. I might pay him a visit, too, if I'm in the vicinity anyway." </p><p>"You should. You know how he gets when he feels left out", mom says, rolling her eyes, and dad's smile becomes more sincere when he looks at her, it reaches his eyes, makes him look less tired. </p><p>"Can I come with? I wanna see Bosco." </p><p>"Dad's going on his own, Bumi. We'll see Bosco another time." </p><p>"He's <em>old</em>, Mommy." </p><p>"Circus Boy's taking good care of him." Grandpa's expression is still pained. "That bear will outlive us all, buddy, don't worry. There'll be plenty of time to visit him in the future." </p><p>"But we always go together." </p><p>"Not this time, Bumi, I'm sorry. But I promise we can go anywhere you want when I'm back. We can visit Bosco, or we can go see Little Iroh and Zuko and Katara, or maybe–" </p><p>"I wanna come with <em>now</em>." </p><p>He pulls a face, hands balled to fists. </p><p>"Sorry, kid." </p><p>Mom tries to pat his head, but he ducks away. </p><p>"You're gonna have to make do with just your grandparents and me for a bit." </p><p>She doesn't sound exactly excited about the prospect of that, either, can't even pretend to be, and Bumi glowers at her, unhappy, annoyed, not quite understanding. </p><p>"We always go together." </p><p>"Not this time. You'd barely see me anyway, even if you came along, because I'll be very, very busy. So Mom and I think it's a better idea for you all to stay here, with your grandparents. The three of you are a lot to handle for just one person, and I wouldn't be able to help much while in Habao." </p><p>"Why not?" </p><p>"I'll be busy with other things." </p><p>"Why?" </p><p>"Because that's my job." </p><p>Dad sighs heavily. </p><p>"I'm sorry, Bumi. I wish I could take you all with me. I wish I could just <em>stay</em>. But because I can't, I'll do my best to be quick, and I'll bring you back a present, and when I'm back here, we can do whatever you want, alright?" </p><p>"No." </p><p>"Bumi ..." </p><p>"No! I wanna go!" </p><p>"Bumi. I can't help Mom take care of you and the twins while I'm busy in Habao; I'd only come home to sleep. But the three of you are at least a two-person-job, so you're staying here, where grandma and grandpa can help look after you. I'm sorry, but you can't come with me, and that's the end of this discussion. I know it sucks, but I cannot change it." </p><p>His anger will be dry once he learns not to let it overwhelm him, but he hasn't yet, and it'll burn bright, but not as bright as it can in the chest of a little boy who is on the edge of recognizing a truth so different from the one he has lived before, and so emotions and realizations crash down on him like a wave, except he can't find the surface quick enough. He starts thrashing when big hands lift him off his chair, and doesn't stop until long arms are wrapped around him tightly, and then he buries his face in his father's chest and cries. </p><p>"Baba", he hiccoughs. </p><p>"I know, buddy." </p><p>"We <em>always</em> go together." </p><p>"I'm sorry." </p><p>Bumi is four years old when he starts to realize, needs to start to realize, needs to learn, that his father belongs to the world just as much as he belongs to his family. </p><p>("Too little", his father says, much later. "You were too little."</p><p>His mother just sighs.)</p><p>He spends that night in his parents' bed, clinging to his father until sleep loosens his grip, and he tries to stay awake, really, he does, tries to listen to dad whisper stories in his ear, but crying is exhausting, and it doesn't take long at all for him to drift off. Neither mom nor dad sleeps much that night, but Bumi is blissfully unaware of any troubles that aren't his own – as he should be. </p><p>When he wakes up the next morning, it's because mom is playing with his hair. </p><p>He swats at her hand lazily. </p><p>She laughs. </p><p>"Did you sleep well?" </p><p>He rubs his nose. </p><p>"Hmmm." </p><p>Next to him, dad is snoring softly, and somewhere in the room, a baby is cooing just as quietly, and the last night comes back slowly, and the little boy turns to his mother. </p><p>"When's Daddy leaving?", he whispers. </p><p>"Tonight", mom sighs. </p><p>"Oh ..." </p><p>"I don't want him to go, either, kid. Unfortunately, though, this is something he has to do. I know it feels unfair, that he just has to up and leave like that, but he wouldn't do that if it weren't urgent. He's been working very hard to be able to stay here with us." </p><p>She strokes his cheek. </p><p>"Do you know why we travel so much?" </p><p>"Because we're Air Nomads", he says, not even thinking, because there can be no other answer. </p><p>They're Air Nomads, and Air Nomads are supposed to travel, supposed to see the world, and sometimes, they stop at the Temples to meditate in windy, spiritual places, or they visit grandparents and friends, and they meet lots of people, make lots of friends. </p><p>His family travels because that's what their people do. It's in their blood. </p><p>Mom smiles. </p><p>"Well, yes, that's part of it. A big part of it, even. But it's also because it's dad's job to solve problems and help settle conflicts and look after the world, and all those things are easier to do when he's where the problem is. And we'll always try to go with him, because he doesn't like being separated from us, either, but sometimes, it makes his job easier if he doesn't have to worry about us on top of everything else." </p><p>She can't see the pensive expression on his face, but she lets him play with her fingers regardless, lets him draw circles on her skin and inspect her fingernails. </p><p>"Dad loves you guys more than anything in the world, Bumi. Never doubt that." </p><p>"I don't", he mutters. </p><p>An arm wraps around him from behind, then, and he shrieks in surprise when he is pulled back, then with laughter when dad starts tickling his sites and pressing kisses to his cheeks and forehead. </p><p>"I love you", dad says. </p><p>"I love you, too!", the boy cries through his laughter. </p><p>"So, so much." </p><p>"So, so much!" </p><p>And there truly can be no doubt, not now, not right this moment, how much his father loves him – that he loves him – when dad rolls around in bed, onto his back, Bumi clutched to his chest, and sighs, content, as the little boy cuddles against him. </p><p>The man's heart beats a familiar rhythm under Bumi's ear. </p><p>"You wanna get dressed? Go see if breakfast's ready?" </p><p>"I don't need to dress for breakfast." </p><p>"Here you do." </p><p>"Gramma loves me. She doesn't care." </p><p>"He's right about that", mom chuckles. </p><p>She's climbed out of bed to pick up a whining Tenzin. He doesn't look as tiny in her arms as he does in dad's, and he's grown a lot since he was born, but he's still small enough for Bumi to hold him almost easily, and small enough to be called tiny. He's sucking on his fist, and staring through the room with big green eyes. </p><p>"Excuse you." </p><p>Dad sniffs. </p><p>"I'm trying to parent here." </p><p>"Oh, please continue, dearest husband." </p><p>They're both grinning. </p><p>"You're silly", Bumi complains. </p><p>"I suppose so", dad says, eyes twinkling. "Now come one. Let's see if we can find something to eat." </p><p>He rolls out of bed and carries an upside-down Bumi out of the room, kissing mom on the cheek on his way out, who's laughing now, too, and Bumi waves at Tenzin, who just blinks at his brother's quickly moving hand. </p><p>"See you in a sec", dad sing-songs. </p><p>"See ya never", mom retorts grinning. </p><p>They continue making monkeys of themselves for the rest of the day, all while reminding their son every other minute that dad will be leaving before the day is over – Bumi is only half-listening when they say his name all serious again, again, again. </p><p>He doesn't want to hear them. </p><p>He wants them to keep being silly.  </p><p>He doesn't want dad to leave. </p><p>So of course there are tears that evening. </p><p>They're not as white-hot as the night before, there is no anger, no screaming, no kicking, just quiet sniffles and confused sadness as dad hugs Bumi close to his chest, kisses his head and whispers goodbyes and jokes and promises of "see you soon" into his ear. </p><p>"I'll be back in no time", he says, once Bumi is back in his mother's arms, head resting on her shoulder, clinging to her neck. A few tears are drying on her collar. "You'll see. And if you miss us bad enough, I'm sure mom'll let you borrow her whistle for a bit. If you blow it real hard, I'll hear, and I'll know to hurry even more, okay?" </p><p>The boy glances at the the bison whistle his mother wears on a string around her neck more often than not. </p><p>"For real?" </p><p>Mom sighs. </p><p>"Aang–" </p><p>"It won't make me come immediately", dad says, undeterred, "but it'll let me know that you miss me a whole lot, so I'll try to be even quicker. Okay?" </p><p>Bumi sniffles and nods. His hand closes around the whistle. </p><p>"Okay." </p><p>"Good." </p><p>Dad gives him one last kiss on the cheek before kissing mom on the lips for a bit too long, and then he climbs onto Appa's head and waves and is gone. </p><p>Mom can't see the slowly disappearing bison, but she stands and waits until Bumi is done waving, anyway. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My Tumblr, where I draw Bumi (sometimes) and all sorts of other stuff (mostly ATLA fanart), is der-andere-aang.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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